Maximize Your Farm's Profitability

AgWeb Profit Center offers tips, tools for business planning

For many farmers, winter is the perfect time to prepare for the upcoming year. In these volatile economic times, it’s good to have a few extra tools in your business planning toolbox. At the new AgWeb Profit Center, you’ll discover a multitude of resources to help you with your farm business decisions.

Here’s what you can expect:

Expert advice. Have a margins question? Ask it. Through his blog, "Ask a Margins Expert," AgWeb margins guru Chris Barron will answer your business questions and offer insight on improving your bottom line. Or, go see Barron speak in person by signing up for Farm Journal Profit College, where you’ll also get advice from Farm Journal Economist Bob Utterback and Farm Journal’s new columnist, Moe Russell.

Planning tools. Advice isn’t helpful unless you can act upon it. At the Profit Center, we’ve set up a range of tools to help you plan ahead and make your business as profitable as it can be. Our extensive suite of interactive Financial Calculators allows you to chart everything from payroll deductions to retirement savings. Simply plug in your criteria and get your questions answered with dynamic graphs and personalized reports. Also, the Profit Center features our Corn and Soybean Margin Calculators so you can calculate your cost of crop production per acre and determine your break-even selling price.

Tax tips. Tax season is upon us. Read up on tax credits and get the most out of your deductions. Farm CPA Paul Neiffer shares tax tips on everything from gift tax exemptions to hiring your children as employees.

Financial solutions. Learn more about managing your money with the "Fiscal Fitness" blog. A variety of finance experts will offer advice on taxes, loans, budgets and overall financial performance.